Imamate - World Organization For Islamic Services · 2013. 10. 12. · First edition...

Imamate

nayebImamate

IMAMATE(The Vicegerency of the Prophet)

by:SAYYID SAEED AKHTAR RIZVI

Annotated by:

Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi

WOFIS

WORLD ORGANIZATION FOR ISLAMIC SERVICES,TEHRAN -IRAN

First edition ( Dar-es-Salaam) 1971;Second edition ( Mombasa) 1974;Tehran editions by WOFIS) 1974, 1977,

1981, 1984.

Revised edition 1985/1405

Published by

World Organization for Islamic Services,P. 0. Box No.11365 -1545,

Tehran - Iran.

In the Name of Allah,The All-compassionate, The All-merciful

Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all being;the All-compassionate, the All-merciful;the Master of the Day of Judgement;

Thee only we serve, and to Thee alone we prayfor succour;

Guide us in the straight path;the path of those whom Thou hast blessed,

not of those against whom Thou art wrathful,nor of those who are astray.

O' Allah! send your blessings to the head ofyour messengers and the last of

your prophets,Muhammad and his pure and cleansed progeny.

Also send your blessings to all yourprophets and envoys.

Dear Reader,

The book you now have in hand is one ofthe many Islamic publications distributed by thisOrganization throughout the world in differentlanguages with the aim of conveying the messageof Islam to the people of the world.

You may read this book carefully andshould you be interested to have further studyon such publications you can contact us througha letter. Naturally, if we find you to be a keenand energetic reader we shall give you a deserv-ing response in sending you some other publica-tions of this Organization.

You may express your views on this pub-lication and the subject matter discussed in it,and how far you have benefited from it or whichpart of the subject matter has proved useful toyou and your environment. You will be able, inthis manner, to introduce yourself as one ofour good and active reader.

Meanwhile, you can keep our address at thedisposal of your friends and those individualsinterested in Islamic Studies.

Publication Secretary,

World Organization for Islamic Services,

( WOFIS).

PART ONE

GENERAL MEANING

CONTENTS

11

1. Meaning of Imamah and Khilafah .... 212. Summary of Differences ... ... ... 243. Basic Difference ... ... ... ... ... 264. System of Islamic Leadership ... ... 32

TRANSLITERATION ... ... ... ... ... ... 14

PUBLISHER'S FOREWORD:

In Arabic ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 15English translation ... ... ... ... ... 1 7

PART TWO

THE SHIÌTE POINT OF VIEW

5. The Necessity of Imamate and theQualifications of an Imam:A. Necessity of Imamate ... ... .. 39B. Superiority (Afdaliyyah) ... ... 40C. Infallibility ... ... ... ... ... 41D. Appointment by Allah ... ... ... 42E. Miracles ... ... ... ... ... ... 46

6. Infallibility of the Imams ... ... ... ... 497. Superiority of Àli (a. s.) ... ... ... ... 548. Appointment of Àli (a. s.) ... ... ... 579. Verse of Mastership (Wilayah) ... ... 60

10. The Formal Declaration ofGhadir Khumm ... ... ... ... ... 62

I. Hadith of Ghadir: Mutawatir ... ... 67.II. Asnad of Hadith of Ghadir... ... ... 74

III. General Meanings of Mawla ... ... 76IV. Meaning of "Mawla" in the

Context ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7911. Àli -"Self" of the Prophet ... ... ... 8112. Traditions ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 8413. Ulu 'l-Amr Must be Ma`sum ... ... ... 8714. Ulu 'l-Amr: Does it Mean

Muslim Rulers? ... ... ... ... 93

12

CONTENTS

15. Real Meaning of Ulu '1-Amr ... 9716. Twelve Caliphs or Imams . ... 10017. Few Facts About the Twelve Imams 102

PART THREE

THE SUNNI POINT OF VIEW

18. Sunni Views on the Caliphate ... 10919. Qualifications of a Caliph ... ... 11120. Abu Bakr's Rise to Power ... ... 11321. Short Review ... ... ... ... ... 12022. Nomination of `Umar ... ... ... 12623. ash-Shura : The Committee ... . 13124. Military Power ... ... ... ... ... 13825. General Review ... ... ... ... ... 13926. The Practical Side ... ... ... ... 14127. al-Walid and Harun ar-Rashid ... 14428. Effects on the Beliefs of the

Justice of God and Ismah(infallibility) of the Prophets ... 146

29. Is Shi'ism Undemocratic? ... ... 14830. A Dynastic Rule? . ... ... ... 156

BIBLIOGRAPHY ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 61INDEXES:

A. Qur'anic Verses ... ... ... ... 170B. General Index ... ... ... ... 171

13

TRANSLITERATION

1 4

FOREWORD

1. al-`Allamah as-Sayyid Said Akhtar ar-Radawi is well-known to our gentle readersfrom his books published by this Organization.We have already introduced him in the Fore-words to his works: The Family Life of Islamand the first volume of the English translationof al-Mizan (An Exegesis of the Qur'an).

2. Imamate is one of his books which hasbeen on the list of our publications for manyyears and has undergone several reprints. Later,the author decided to revise its various chaptersand to add further material to its contents. Thisrevised additon of the book, despite its brevity,embraces most of the relevant points of theunfortunate difference between Muslims about

17

the issue of imamate. The author whenever hedeals with the conflicting opinions and beliefsof different Muslim sects, has relied, for quota-tions, on those sources which are consideredreliable and trustworthy by the particular sectwhose ideas are dealt with in the course of dis-cussion. This advantage of the book puts it ona sound footing. It contributes to its clarity andthe reliability of its references and quotations.

3. Moreover, this Board has added a com-plete bibliography, several indexes and othertouches which the careful reader will noticewhile going through the book.

We implore Allah to increase us in sincerityof devotion to His cause and ask Him to assistus in our cherished objective. Certainly, He isthe best Guardian and the best Helper.

WORLD ORGANIZATION FOR ISLAMIC SERVICES( Board of Writing, Translation and Publication)

18/12/140414/ 9/1984Tehran, Iran.

18

FOREWORD

GENERAL MEANING

PART ONE

1. MEANING OF IMAMAH AND KHILAFAH

AL-IMAMAHal-imamterminology al-imamah (Imamate) means ùni-versal authority in all religious and secular af-fairs, in succession to the Prophet". al-Imammeans `the man who, in succession to theProphet, has the right to the absolute com-mand of the Muslims in all religious and secularaffairs'.

The word `man' signifies that a female can-not be an Imam. Àbsolute command' excludes

1. al-Àllamah al-Hilli: al-Babu 'l-hadi àshar, Eng.tr. W. M. Miller, p. 62; Mughniyyah: Falsafat Islamiyyah,p. 392.

21

literally means `to lead';means `the leader'. In Islamic

nayeb

I MAMATE

those who lead in the prayers: they are alsocalled Ìmam of the prayers', but they do nothave absolute authority. Ìn succession to theProphet' denotes the difference between aprophet and an Imam. The Imam enjoys thisauthority not directly, but as the successor ofthe Prophet.

2 2

The word al-khilafahsucceed' and al-khalifahsuccessor'. In Islamic terminology al-khilafahand al-khalifah practically signify the same mean-ings as al-imamah and al-imam repectively.

al- Wisayahship of the will', and al-wasiyy`the executor of the will'. Their significancein Muslims' writings is the same as that of al-khilafah (caliphate) and al-khalifah (caliph).

It is interesting to note that many previousprophets were also the caliphs of their prede-cessor prophets, thus they were nabiyy andkhalifah both; while other prophets (whobrought new shariàh) were not caliphs of anyprevious prophets. Also there were those whowere caliphs of the prophets but not prophetsthemselves.

The question of Imamate and caliphatehas torn the Muslim community apart and has

means `tomeans `the

means `the executor-means

GENERAL MEANING

affected the thinking and philosophy of thedifferent groups so tremendously that eventhe belief in Allah (at-tawhid) and the prophets(an-nubuwwah) could not escape from thisdivergence of views.

This is the most debated subject of Islamictheology. Muslims have written thousands uponthousands of books on caliphate. The problembefore me is not what to write; it is what not towrite. In a small work such as this, one cannottouch on all the various aspects of this subject,let alone go into detail on even those topicswhich are described therein. This provides onlya brief outline of the differences regardingthe caliphate.

It may be of help to mention here thatregarding this question the Muslims are dividedinto two sects: the Sunnis, who believe that AbuBakr was the first caliph of the Holy Prophetof Islam; and the Shi'ahs, who believe that`Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, wasthe first Imam and caliph.

This fundamental difference has led toother differences which shall be described inthe following chapters.

23

IMAMATE

2. SUMMARY OF DIFFERENCES

The Holy Prophet has said in a hadith whichhas been accepted by all sects of Islam:

My ummah (followers) will shortly breakup into seventy-three sects, all of which shallbe condemned except one. 2

The seekers of salvation have always madeuntiring efforts to inquire into the matter todiscover the right course - the path to salvation.And indeed it is necessary for every man to takereason as his guide, try his best in this matterand never despair of attaining the truth. But thiscan only be possible when he has a clear viewof the radical differences before him, and dis-carding all bias and prejudices, examines thepoints at issue with thoughtful mind, alwayspraying to Allah to lead him in the right path.

For this reason I propose to briefly mentionhere the important differences and conflictstogether with the arguments and reasonings of

2. al-Khatib at Tabrizi: Mishkatu 'l-masabih, English tr.James Robson, vol. I, p. 45; al-Majlisi has collected, ina complete chapter, traditions to this effect in Biharu'l-anwar„ vol. 28, pp.2-36; al-Qummi, Sh. `Abbas:Safinatu 'l-bihar, vol. 2, pp. 359 - 60.

2 4

nayeb

GENERAL MEANING

each sect, in order to facilitate the path ofinquiry. The main questions are

1. Does it lie with Allah to appoint a proph-et's successor or is it the duty of the ummah(the followers) to appoint whomsoever theyplease as successor to the Prophet?

2. In the latter case, did Allah or the Prophetplace in the hands of the ummah any systematiccode containing the rules and procedures forthe appointment of a caliph, or did the ummahby their unanimous consent before appointinga caliph, prepare a set of rules to which theyadhered (subsequently), or did the ummah actaccording to what they thought expedient atthe time and according to the opportunity attheir disposal? Had they the right to act asthey did?

3. Does reason and Divine Law demandthe existence of any qualifications and con-ditions in an Imam and caliph? If so, whatare they?

4. Did the Prophet of Islam appoint any-one as his caliph and successor or not? If hedid so, who was it? If not, why?

5. After the Prophet's death, who wasrecognized to be his caliph and did he possess

25

I MAMATE

the qualifications necessary for a caliph? 3

3. BASIC DIFFERENCE

It will save time if we explain at the outsetthe basic cause of the differences concerningthe nature and character of the Imamate andcaliphate. What is the primary characteristic ofthe Imamate? Is an Imam, first and foremost,the ruler of a kingdom? Or is he, first and fore-most, the, representative of Allah and vicegerentof the Prophet?

As the Imamate and caliphate is generallyaccepted as the successorship of the Prophet,the above questions cannot be ansyvered untila decision is made on the basic characteristicsof a prophet. We must decide whether a prophetis, first and foremost, the ruler of a kingdom orthe representative of Allah.

We find in the history of Islam a groupwhich viewed the mission of the Holy Prophetas an attempt to establish a kingdom. Theiroutlook was material; their ideals were wealth,beauty and power. They, naturally, ascribed

3. Najmu '1-Hasan: an Nubuwwah wa '1-khilafah,

tr.Liga' Ali Haydari, pp. 2 - 3.

26

nayeb

GENERAL MEANING

the same motives to the Hoy Prophet.Ùtbah ibn Rabi àh, the father-in-law of

Abu Sufyan, was sent to the Holy Prophet toconvey the message of the Quraysh: "Muhammad! If you desire power and prestige, we willmake you the overlord of Mecca. Do you desiremarriage into a noble family? You may havethe hand of the fairest maiden in the land. Doyou desire hoards of silver and gold? We canprovide you with all these and even more. Butyou must forsake these nefarious preachingswhich imply that our forefathers who worship-ped these' dieties of ours were fools."

The Quraysh were almost certain thatMuhammad (s. a. w. a.) would respond favour-ably to this offer. But the Holy Prophet recitedsurah 41 in reply which, inter alia, containedthe following warning

27

But if they turn away, then say: "I havewarned you of a thunderbolt (of punish-ment) like the thunderbolt of the 'Ad andthe Thamud. " (41:13).Ùtbah was overwhelmed by this clear warn-

ing. He did not accept Islam, but advised theQuraysh to leave Muhammad (s. a. w. a.) alone

to see how he could fare with other tribes. TheQuraysh claimed that he was also bewitched byMuhammad (s.a.w.a.) 4.

Thus he wanted to leave Muhammad (s. a. w.a.) to other tribes. On the other hand when theProphet emigrated to Medina and the Qurayshwaged war upon war, the other tribes thought itadvisable to leave Muhammad (s. a. w. a.) to hisown tribe. `Amr ibn Salamah, a companion ofthe Prophet, states: "The Arabs were waitingfor the Quraysh to accept Islam. They used tosay that Muhammad (s. a. w. a.) should be left tohis own people. If he would emerge victoriousover them, he was undoubtedly a true prophet.When Mecca was conquered, all the tribeshastened to accept Islam." 5

Thus according to them, victory was the cri-terion of truth! If Muhammad (s. a.w. a.) wouldhave been defeated, he would have been con-sidered a liar! !

The view that his sacred mission was nothingbut a worldly affair was repeatedly announced

4. Ibn Hisham:

as-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah, vol. 1, pp.313 -4.

5. al-Bukhari :

as-Sahih,

vol. 5, p. 191; Ibn Kathir

al -Bidayah wa 'n-nihayah,vol. 5, p. 40 .

28

I MAMATE

nayeb

GENERAL MEANING

by Abu Sufyan and his clan. At the time of thefall of Mecca, Abu Sufyan left Mecca to discernthe strength of the Muslim army. He was seen bythe uncle of the Prophet, Àbbas, who took himto the Holy Prophet and advised the Prophetthat he be given protection and shown respect,in order that he may accept Islam.

To summarize the event, Àbbas took AbuSufyan for a review of the Islamic army. Hepointed out to Abu Sufyan eminent personalities from every clan who were present in thearmy. In the meantime, the Holy Prophet passedwith his group which was in green uniform. AbuSufyan cried out: "O Àbbas ! Verily your nep-hew has acquired quite a kingdom! " Àbbassaid: "Woe unto thee! This is not kingship;this is Prophethood" s.

Here we see two opposing views in clearcontrast. Abu Sufyan never changed his views.When Ùthman became caliph, Abu Sufyancame to him and advised: "O Children of Umay-yah! Now that this kingdom has come to you,play with it as the children play with a ball, andpass it from one to another in your clan. This

6. Abu 'I-Fida' : al-Mukhtasar, vol. 1, pp. 143 - 4; al-Ya'qubi: at -Tarikh, vol. 2, p.59.

29

nayeb

IMAMATE

kingdom is a reality; we do not know whetherthere is a paradise or hell or not."7

Then he went to Uhud and kicked at thegrave of Hamzah (the uncle of the Prophet)and said: "O Abu Ya'la! See that the kingdomwhich you fought against has at last come tous." 8

The same views were inherited by his grand-son, Yazid, who said:

7. Ibn `Abdi '1-Barr: al-Isti`ab, vol. 4, p.1679; Ibn

Abi'1-Hadid quotes the last sentence as follows: "By

him in whose name Abu Sufyan swears, there is neither

punishment nor reckoning, neither Garden nor Fire,

neither Resurrection nor Day of Judgment." (Vide his

Sharh Nahji 'l-balaghah, vol. 9, p. 53.)

8. Ibn Abi'1-Hadid: op. cit., vol. 16, p.136.

9. Sibt ibn al-Jawzi: ' Tadhkirah, ed. S. M. S. Bahru '1-

'ulum, p. 261; at-Tabari, at- Tarikh, vol. 13, p.2174.

30

Banu Hdshim staged a play to obtain thekingdom;

Actually, there was neither any news(from Allah) nor any revelation. 9

If that is the view held by any Muslim, thenhe is bound to equate the Imamate with ruler-ship. According to such thinking, the primary

nayeb

GENERAL MEANING

function of the Prophet was kingship, and,therefore, anyone holding the reins of powerwas the rightful successor of the Holy Prophet.

But the problem arises in that more thanninety per cent of the prophets did not havepolitical power;

and most of them were persecuted and apparently helpless victims of thepolitical powers of their times. Their glory wasnot of crown and throne; it was of martyrdomand suffering. If the primary characteristic ofprophethood is political power and rulership,then perhaps not even 50 (out of 124,000)prophets would retain their divine title ofnabiyy.

Thus it is crystal-clear that the main char-acteristic of the Holy Prophet was not that hehad any political power, but that he was theRepresentative of Allah. And that represen-tation was not bestowed on him by his people;it was given to him by Allah Himself.

Likewise, his successor's chief characteristiccannot be political power; but the fact that hewas the Representative of Allah. And that representation can never be bestowed upon anyoneby his people; it must come from Allah Him-self. In short, if an Imam is to represent Allah,he must be appointed by Allah.

31

IMAMATE

4. SYSTEM OF ISLAMIC LEADERSHIP

There was a time when monarchy was theonly system of government known to the peo-ple. At that time the Muslim scholars usedto Qlorify monarchs and monarchy by saying,

(the king is the shadow of Allah),as though Allah has a shadow! Now in moderntimes democracy is in vogue and the Sunnischolars are never tired of asserting in hundredsand thousands of articles, books and treatisesthat the Islamic system of government is basedupon democracy. They even go so far as toclaim' that democracy was established by Islam,forgetting the city-republics of Greece. In thesecond half of this century, socialism andcommunism are gaining hold of the undevelopedand developing countries; and I am not sur-prised to hear from many well-meaning Muslimscholars tirelessly asserting that Islam teachesand creates socialism. Some people in Pakistanand elsewhere have invented the slogan of`Islamic socialism'. What this `Islamic social-ism' means, I do not know. But I would notbe surprised if within ten or twenty yearsthese very people start claiming that Islamteaches communism!

32

GENERAL MEANING

All this `changing with the wind' is makinga mockery of the Islamic system of leadership.Some time ago in a gathering of Muslims in anAfrican country, in which the president of thecountry was the guest of honour, a Muslimleader stated that Islam taught to `Obey Allah,obey the Apostle and your rulers'. In his reply,the president (who incidently, was a staunchRoman Catholic) said that he appreciated verymuch the wisdom of the commandment to obeyAllah and the Apostle of Allah; but he could notunderstand the logic behind the order to obey`your rulers'. What if a ruler is unjust and atyrant? Does Islam enjoin Muslims to obey himpassively without resistance?

This intelligent question demands an inteli-gent reply. It cannot be regarded lightly. Thefact is that the person who invited that criticism,did so because of his misinterpretation of theHoly Qur'an.

Let us examine the system of Islamic leader-ship. Is it democratic? The best definition ofdemocracy was given by Abraham Lincolnwhen he said that democracy was "the govern-ment of the people, by the people and for thepeople".

But in Islam it is not the government 'of the

33

I MAMATE

people'; it is the `government of Allah'. Howdo people govern themselves? They governthemselves by making their own laws; in Islamlaws are made not by the people, but by Allah;these laws are promulgated not by the consentand decree of the people, but by the Prophet,by the command of Allah. The people have nosay in legislation; they are required to follow,not to make any comment or suggestion aboutthose laws and legislations;

And it is not for a believer man or believerwoman to have any choice in their affairwhen Allah and His Apostle have decideda matter ... (33:36).Coming to the phrase `by the people', let

us now consider how people govern themselves.They do so by electing their own rulers. TheHoly Prophet, who was the supreme executive,judicial -and overall authority of the Islamicgovernment, was not elected by the people. Infact, had the people of Mecca been allowed toexercise their choice they would have electedeither `Urwah ibn Mas'ud (of at-Ta'if) or al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah (of Mecca) as the prophetof A11ah ! According to the Qur'an:

34

GENERAL MEANING

10. For the explanation of "a man of importance",see, as-Suyuti: Lubabu 'n-nuqul fi asbabi 'n-nuzul,printed with Tafsiru '1-jalalayn, pp. 289, 649.

35

And they say: "Why was not this Qur'anrevealed to a man of importance in thetwo towns?" (43:31) 10

So not only was the Supreme Head of theIslamic State appointed without the consul-tation of the people, but in fact it was doneagainst their expressed wishes. The Holy Prophetis the highest authority of Islam: he combinesin his person all the functions of legislative,executive and judicial branches of the govern-ment; and he was not elected by the people.

So Islam is neither the government of thepeople nor by the people. There is no legislationby the people; and the executive and judiciaryis not responsible to the people.

Nor is it, for that matter, a government`for the people'. The Islamic system, from thebeginning to the end, is `for Allah'. Everythingmust be done `for Allah'; if it is done `for thepeople', it is termed `hidden polytheism'. What-ever you do - whether it is prayer or charity,social service or family function, obedience to

nayeb

IMAMATE

parents or love of neighbour, leading in prayeror deciding a case, entering into war or con-cluding a peace - must be done with "qurbatanila 'llah ", to become nearer to Allah, to gainthe pleasure of Allah. In Islam,. everything isfor Allah.

In short, the Islamic form of government isthe government of Allah, by the representativeof Allah, to gain the pleasure of Allah.

And I did not create the jinn and the humanbeings except that they should worship me(51,:56).It is theocracy, and it is the nature and

characteristic of Islamic leadership. And howit affects the meaning of the above verseconcerning `obedience' shall be seen in laterchapters.

36

* * * * *

THE SHIITE POINT OF VIEW

PART TWO

5. THE NECESSITY OF IMAMATE AND THEQUALIFICATIONS OF AN IMAM

A. Necessity of ImamateFROM THE Shi`ite point of view, the institutionof Imamate is necessary, according to reason. Itis lutf (grace) of Allah which brings the creaturetowards obedience and keeps him away fromdisobedience, without compelling the creaturein any way. It has been proved in the Shi `itetheology that lutf is incumbent on Allah. WhenAllah orders that man to do something yet isaware that man cannot do it or that it is verydifficult without His assistance, then if Allahdoes not provide this assistance, He would becontradicting His own aim. Obviously, suchnegligence is evil according to reason. Thereforelutf is incumbent on Allah.

39

IMAMATE

I mamate is a lutf, because as we knowwhen men have a chief (ra'is) and guide (mur-shid) whom they obey, who avenges the oppressed of their oppressor and restrains the op-pressor, then they draw nearer to righteousnessand depart from corruption.

And because it is a lutf, it is incumbent onAllah to appoint an Imam to guide and lead theummah after the Pfophet. l

B. Superiority (afdaliyyah)The Shi'ahs believe that, like the Prophet,

an Imam should excel the ummah in all virtues,such as knowledge, bravery, piety and charity,and should possess complete knowledge of theDivine Law. If he does not, and this high postis entrusted to a less perfect person when amore perfect one is available, the inferior willhave been given preference over the superior,which is wrong in reason and against DivineJustice. Therefore, no inferior person mayreceive Imamate from Allah when there existsa person superior to him. 2

1. al-`Allamah,al-Hilli: al-Babu 'l-hadi ashar, Eng. tr.W.M. Miller, pp. 50, 62 - 4.

.

2. Ibid. p.69.

40

nayeb


C. InfallibilityThe second qualification is `ismah (infalli-

bility). If the Imam is not infallible (ma'sum) hewould be liable to err and also deceive others.3

Firstly, in such a case, no implicit con-fidence may' be placed in what he says anddictates to us.

Secondly, an Imam is the ruler and headof the ummah and the ummah should followhim unreservedly in every matter. Now, if hecommits a sin the people would be bound tofollow him in that sin as well. The untenabilityof such a position is self-evident; for obediencein sin is evil, unlawful and forbidden. Moreover,it would mean that he should be obeyed anddisobeyed at one and the same time; that is,obedience to him would be obligatory yetforbidden, which is manifestly absurd.

Thirdly, if it would be possible for anImam to commit sin it would be the duty ofother people to prevent him from doing so(because it is obligatory on every Muslim toforbid other people from unlawful acts). Insuch a case, the Imam will be held in contempt;his prestige will come to an end and instead of

3. Ibid. pp. 64 - 8.

4 1

nayeb

being the leader of the ummah he will becometheir follower, and his Imamate will be of no use.

Fourthly, the Imam is the defender of theDivine Law and this work cannot be entrustedto fallible hands nor can any such person main-tain it properly. For this very reason, infalli-bility has been admitted to be an indispensablecondition to prophethood; and the consider-ations which make it essential in the case of aprophet make it so in the case of an Imam andcaliph as well.

More will be said on this subject in Chapter13 (Ulu 'l-Amr Must Be Ma`sum ).

D - Appointment by Allah:But, as in the case of the prophets, the

above-mentioned qualifications alone are notenough to automatically make one an Imam.Imamate is not an acquired job; it is a 'desig-nation' bestowed by Allah.'

It is for this reason that the Shi'ah Ithna`Asharis (The Twelvers) believe that only Allahcan appoint a successor to the Prophet; thatthe ummah has no choice in this matter - itsonly duty is to follow such a divinely-appointed

42

4. Ibid., p.68.

I MAMATE

nayeb


Imam or caliph.The Sunnis, on the other hand, believe that

it is the duty of the ummah to appoint a caliph.

I. Verses of the Qur'an:The following verses of the Qur'an confirm

the views held by the Shl'ahs:

And thy Lord creates what He wills andchooses; they have no right to choose;glory be to Allah, and exalted be He abovewhat they associate! (28:68).This clearly shows that man has no right to

make any selection; it lies entirely in the handsof Allah.

Before creating Adam (a.s.), Allah informedthe angels:

. . . "Verily I am going to make a caliph inthe earth ". . .

( 2 : 30).And when the angels demurred politely at

the scheme, their protest was brushed aside bya curt reply:what you know not" (ibid.). If the ma'sum(infallible) angels were given no say in the ap-pointment of a caliph, how can fallible humans

43

"Surely I know

I MAMATE

expect to take the whole authority of such anappointment in their own hands?

Allah Himself appointed Prophet Dawud(a. s.) as caliph on the earth:

(Allah) said: "Surely I am going to makeyou an Imam for men. " (Ibrahim) said:"And of my offspring? "He said: `My coven-ant will not include the unjust. " (2:124)This verse leads us to the correct answers of

many important questions concerning Imamate.a. Allah said: "Surely I am going to make you

an Imam for men. " This shows that Imamateis a divinely-appointed status; it is beyondthe jurisdiction of the ummah.

b.

"My covenant will not include the unjust. "This clearly says that a non-ma`sum can-not be an Imam. Logically, we may divide

44

"O Dawud! Verily, We have made thee(Our) caliph on the earth. . . " (38:26)In every case Allah attributes the appoint-

ment of the caliph or the Imam exclusively toHimself.

Likewise, the call went to Prophet Ibrahim


mankind into four groups:1. Those who remain unjust throughouttheir lives;2. those who are never unjust;3. those who are unjust early in their livesbut later become just; and4. those who are just early in their lives butlater become unjust.Ibrahim (a.s.) had too high a position torequest Imamate for the first or the fourthgroup. This leaves two groups (the secondand the third) which could be included inthe prayer. However, Allah rejects one ofthem; i.e., those who are unjust early intheir lives but later become just. Now thereremains only one group which can qualifyfor Imamate - those who are never unjustthroughout their lives, i.e., ma`sum.

c. The literal translation of the last sentenceis as follows: My covenant will not reach theunjust. Note that Allah did not say, theunjust will not reach My covenant, becauseit would have implied that it was withinthe power of man - albeit a just one - toattain the status of Imamate. The presentsentence does not leave room for any suchmisunderstanding, it cleary shows that

45

IMAMATE

receiving Imamate is not within human ju-risdiction; it is exclusively in the hands ofAllah and He gives it to whom He pleases.Then as a general rule, it is stated:

E. Miracles:If one has not heard nass about a claimant

4 6

And We made them Imams who were toguide by Our command... (21:73)When Prophet Musa (a.s.) wanted a vizier

to help him with his responsibilities, he didnot appoint someone by his own authority.He prayed to Allah: `And make for me a vizierfrom my family, Harun (Aaron) my brother "(20:29-30). And Allah said

"You are indeed granted your petition,O Musa" (ibid., 36).That Divine selection is made known to the

ummah through the prophet or the precedingI mam. This declaration is called nassspecification; determination; designation of thesucceeding Imam by the prophet or precedingImam). An Imam according to Shi`ite belief,must be mansus min Allahdesignated by Allah for that status.

i.e.,


of Imamate, then the only way of ascertainingthe truth is through a miracle (mu`jizah ). 5

Generally speaking any man may claimthat he is an Imam or a prophet's caliph andinfallible, but a miracle is the only unfailingtest of truth in such cases. If the claimantproves a miracle also in support of his claim,it would be admissible without hesitation. Ifhe fails to do so, it is evident that he does notpossess the qualifications required for Imamateand caliphate, and his claim would thereforebe false.

II. PrecedentThe universal practice of prophets had been

to nominate their successors (on the commandof Allah) without any- interference from theummah.

The history of these prophets does not offera single instance of a prophet's successor beingelected by a voting of his followers. There is noreason why in the case of the successor of thelast Prophet this established Divine Law shouldbe changed. Allah says: And you shall never finda change in divine practice (33:62).

5. Ibid., p.69.

47

nayeb

IMAMATE

III. Logical Reasons:1. The same reasons which prove that the

appointment of a prophet is a divine preroga-tive, prove with equal force that the successorof that prophet should also be appointed byAllah. An Imam or Caliph, like the prophet,is appointed to carry on the work of Allah; hemust be responsible to Allah. If he is appointedby the people, his first loyalty will be notfor Allah, but for the people who would be`the basis of his authority'. He will always tryto please people, because if they were to with-draw their confidence in him he would lose hisposition. So he will not discharge the duties ofreligion without fear or favour; his eyes willalways be on political considerations. Thus thework of Allah will suffer.

And the history of Islam provides ampleevidence of glaring disregard for the tenets ofreligion shown by man-appointed caliphs rightfrom the beginning. So this argument is notjust academic; there is solid historical evidencebehind it.

2. Also, only Allah knows the inner feelingsand thoughts of man; no one else can ever knowthe true nature of another person. Perhaps someone may pose as a pious and god-fearing man

4 8


merely to impress his colleagues and gain someworldly benefit. Such examples are not rare inhistory. Take, for example, the case of `Abdu'1-Malik ibn Marwan who used to spend all his timein the mosque in prayer and recitation of theQur'an. He was reciting the Qur'an when newsreached him of the death of his father and thatpeople were waiting to pledge their allegianceto him. He closed the Qur'an and said: "Thisis the parting between me and thee". 6

Therefore, as the existence of qualificationswhich are necessary for an Imam or Caliph canonly truly be known to Allah, it is only AllahWho can appoint an Imam or Caliph. -

6. INFALLIBILITY OF THE IMAMS

Now, let us note what the Qur'an saysabout the Ahlu 'l-bayt (family members) ofthe Holy Prophet.

According to the Qur'an, the following per-sons were sinless and infallible at the time ofthe death of the Holy Prophet: `Ali, Fatimah,Hasan and Husayn. The verse of purity (tathir)reads as follows:

6. as-Suyuti : Tarikhu 'I-khulafa', p. 217.

49

nayeb

IMAMATE

. . . Allah only desires to keep away abom-ination from you, O People of the House!and to purify you a (thorough) purifying.(33:33)It is universally agreed that the above-named

four persons are `People of the House' and aresinless and free from all kinds of abomination.

The sentences before and after this verseare addressed to the wives the Holy Prophetand the pronouns therein are of femininegender; but the pronouns in this verse are ofmasculine gender. The reason why this versehas been placed in its present position is notdifficult to guess. The late renowned scholar`Allamah Puya writes in footnote no. 1857 ofthe translation of the Holy Qur'an by S. V. MirAhmed Ali

"The portion of this verse relating to thedivinely effected purity of the Holy Ahlu '1-bayt needs a proper explanation commentingwith reference to its correct context. This por-tion of this verse is a separate ayah or verse byitself revealed separately on particular occasionsbut placed here as it deals with the wives of theHoly Prophet. The location of this verse here if

5 0


studied properly makes it obvious that it has itsown significant and important purpose behindit. While the address in the beginning of theverse is in the feminine gender - there is thetransition here in the address from the feminineto the masculine gender. While referring to theconsorts of the Holy Prophet, the pronouns alsoare consistently feminine. For a mixed assemblyof men and women, generally the masculinegender is used. This transition in the grammati-cal use of the language, makes it quite obviousthat this clause is quite a different matter usedfor a- different group other than the previousone, and has been suitably placed here to showa comparative position of the Ahlu'l-bayt incontrast to the wives of the Holy Prophet.`Amr ibn Abi Salamah who was brought upby the Holy Prophet relates:

" `When this verse was revealed the HolyProphet was in the house of Umm Salamah. Atthe

revelation

of (the verse) :

Verily willethGod to keep away impurity from you O Peopleof the House! and He purifieth you with theperfect purification, the Holy Prophet assembledhis daughter Fatimah, her sons Hasan and Husaynand her husband, his cousin, `Ali, and coveredthe group, including himself, with his own

51

I MAMATE

mantle and addressing God said: "O God!These constitute my progeny! Keep themaway from every kind of impurity, purifiedwith perfect purification". Umm Salamah, therighteous wife of the Holy Prophet, witnessingthis marvellous occasion, humbly submitted tothe Holy Prophet, "O Apostle of God! May Ialso join the group? " to which the Holy Prophetreplied, "No, remain thou in thine own place,thou art in goodness" ' ".'

This is not the place to name the countlessreferences concerning this verse; still, I wouldlike to quote Mawlana Wahidu 'z-Zaman, thefamous Sunni scholar, whose translation andcommentary of the Qur'an as well as his bookAnwaru 'l-lughah (a dictionary of the Qur'anand ahadith) are among the recognized refer-ences.. He writes in his commentary of theQur'an about this verse: "Some people thinkthat it is especially for those family memberswho had blood relation with the Prophet, i.e.,`Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn. The presenttranslator says that the traditions which arecorrect (sahih) and well-connected up to the

7. Holy Qur'an, tr. S.V. Mir Ahmed Ali, fn. 1857, p.1261.

5 2

http://Eng.tr.S.V.Mirhttp://Eng.tr.S.V.Mirnayeb


Prophet, support the same view, because whenthe Prophet himself has declared that his familymembers are only these, then to accept it andbelieve in it becomes obligatory. And one moresign of correctness of this view is that the pro-nouns used before and after this verse are thosefor females, while in this verse are those formales. . . " 8

Again he says in his Anwaru'l-lughah: "Thecorrect view is that in this verse of purity onlythese five persons are included (i.e., the Prophet, `Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn), althoughin Arabic usage, the word ahlu 'l-bayt is usedfor wives also. Some people prove by this versethat these five persons were sinless and ma'sum(infallible). But if not ma'sum, then of coursethey were surely mahfuz (protected from com-mitting any sin or error)." 9

I have quoted these two references to showthat not only the Ithna `Asharis but the learnedSunni scholars also confirm that, according tothe rules of Arabic grammer and according to

8. Wahidu'z-Zaman: Tafsir--Wahidi (on the margin of

the Qur'an's translation by the same author), para. 22,fn..7, p. 549.

9. Wahidu'z-Zaman: Anwaru 'l-lughah, para.22, p.51.

5 3

nayeb

IMAMATE

the correct unbroken traditions of the Prophet,only Àli, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn are in-cluded in this verse,. besides the Prophet him-self. Also, it is clear that the view that thesepersons were sinless is shared by Sunni scholarstoo. It is apparent that in the least they saythat if they were not infallible (theoretically)they were surely protected from sin and error(practically).

There are many other verses and traditionstestifying to the purity (ìsmah) of the Ahlu 'l-bayt, but the limitation of space does not allowme to enumerate them even briefly.

7. SUPERIORITY OF ÀLI (A.S.)

Afdaliyyah (superiority) in Islam means "todeserve more reward (thawab) before Allahbecause of good deeds".

All Muslims agree that this `superiority'cannot be decided by our own views or out-look and that there is no way to know it except through the Qur'an or hadith. al-Ghazzali,the famous Sunni scholar, has written: "Thereality of superiority is what is before Allah;and that is something which cannot be known

54


except to the Holy Prophet. "10

Most of our Sunni brethren believe thatsuperiority was according to the sequence ofthe caliphate; i.e., Abu Bakr was more superior,then Ùmar, then Ùthman, then Àli.

But this belief is not based on any proof,nor was it the belief of all the Sunnis of earlydays. During the time of the Holy Prophet, wefind that such respected Companions as Salmanal-Farisi, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, Migdad al-Kindi,Àmmar ibn Yasir, Khabbab ibn al-Aratt, Jabiribn Àbdillah al-Ansari, Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman,Abu Said al-Khudri, Zayd ibn Arqam and manyothers believed that Àli (a.s.) was the mostsuperior amongst all the Ahlu'l bayt and theCompanions. 11

Ahmad ibn Hanbal was once asked by hisson about his views on the subject of superior-ity. He said: "Abu Bakr and Ùmar and Ùthman." His son asked: "And what about Àli ibnAbi Talib?-" He replied: "He is from the Ahlu 'l-bayt. Others cannot be compared with him." 12

Ùbaydullah Amritsari writes in his famous

10. al-Ghazzali: Ihya' ùlumi 'd-din, vol. l, pt.2, p.10.

11.Ibn Abdi 'l-Barr: al-Isti'ab, vol. 2, p.470.

12. al-Qunduzi:

Yanabi ù 'l-mawaddah, p. 253.

5 5

nayeb

book Arjahu 'l-matalib: "As superiority means' having more thawab', its proof can only beknown from the ahadith (traditions) of the HolyProphet ... and if there are conflicting tradi-tions, then the authentic traditions should beaccepted and strong traditions should be differ-entiated from the weak ones.

"al-'Allamah Ibn 'Abdi 'l-Barr writes in hisbook al-Istiaab 13 concerning the ahadith whichhave been narrated about the superiority ofAmiru '1-mu'minin, 'Ali that: 'Imam Ahmad ibnHanbal, al-Qadi Isma'il ibn Ishaq, Imam Ahmadibn 'Ali ibn Shu'ayb an-Nasa'i and al-Hafiz Abu'Ali an-Naysaburi 14 have said: "There have notcome as many ahadith with good chains of nar-rators (asnad) about virtues of any of theCompanions as have been narrated on the virtuesof 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (a. s.). " '

"Furthermore, if we look at the exclusivevirtues of Amiru '1-mu'minin, 'Ali (a.s.) andthink about those things which caused him toreap great rewards before Allah, we will haveto admit that only he was the most superior

IMAMATE

13.Ibn Abdi 'l-Barr: al-Isti'ab, vol. 3, p.1115.

14. [Ibn Hajar al-Haytami: Sawa'iqu 'I-muhrigah, p.72 ; Ibn Hajar al-'Asgalini: Fathu 'l-bari, vol. 8, p.71.]

5 6

nayeb


after the Holy Prophet." 15The author himself was a Sunni; and he

has discussed this matter in detail in Chapter 3,pages 103-516, of the above-mentioned book.

Obviously, I cannot provide here even ashort list of the verses and traditions concern-ing the afdaliyyah of Àli (a.s.). It will sufficeto say that there are at least 86 verses in theQur'an extolling the virtues of Àli ibn AbiTalib (a.s.) and the traditions on this subjectcannot be counted.

Thus, it should be obvious even to the casualobserver that Àli (a.s.) was the most superior ofall the Muslims after the Holy Prophet.

8. APPOINTMENT OF ÀLI (A.S.)

After giving a short account of ìsmah andafdaliyyah of Àli ibn Abi Talib (a.s.), now comesthe most important question of his appointmentby Allah.

On several occasions the Holy Prophet haddeclared that Àli (a.s.) was to be his successorand caliph.

15. Amritsari, Arjahu 'l-matalib, p. 112.

57

nayeb

IMAMATE

It is a fact that the first open declarationof the prophethood was the very occasionwhen the first open declaration of 'Ali's caliphate was made. It was at the time of the "Feastof the Clan."

58

When the verse:thy nearest relations (26:214), was revealed,the Prophet ordered Àli to prepare food andinvite the sons of Àbdu '1-Muttalib so that hecould convey to them the words of Allah. Afterthe feast, the Prophet intended to talk to them,but Abu Lahab interfered by saying: "Verily,your comrade has entranced you". Upon hear-ing this statement all of them dispersed.

The next day, the Messenger of Allah againcalled them for a feast. After they had finishedwith their food, the Prophet addressed them:"O sons of 'Abdul '1-Muttalib, I have broughtfor you the good of this world and the next,and I have been appointed by the Lord to callyou unto Him. Therefore, who amongst youwill administer this cause for me and be mybrother, my successor and my caliph?" Noone responded to the Prophet's call exceptÀli who was the youngest of the congregation.The Prophet then patted 'Ali's neck and said:"O my people! This Àli is my brother, my

And warn


successor and my caliph amongst you. Listen tohim and obey him."16

It is interesting to note here that the Leidenedition (1879 A. D. , p.1173) of at- Tarikh of at-Tabari records the words of the Holy Prophet as"wasiyyi wa khalifati " (my successor and mycaliph) ; but in the Cairo edition of 1963 A. D. ,( which claims to be checked with the Leidenedition) these important words have beenchanged to "kadhd wa kadhd" (so-and-so) ! Howsad it is to see the academic world sacrificingits honesty and integrity on the altar of politicalexpediency!

16. Ibnu 'l-Athir: al-Kamil, [vol. 5, pp. 62 - 31; al-Baghawi: at-Tafsir, [vol. 4, p. 127] ; al-Khazin: at-Taf-

5 9

sir, [vol. 4, p. 127] ; al-Bayhaqi: Dala'ilu 'n-nubuwwah,[vol. 1, pp. 428 - 30] ; as-Suyuti: ad-Durru 'l-manthur,[vol. 5, p.97]; al-Muttaqi al-Hindi: Kanzu '1-'ummal,[vol.15, pp.100, 113, 115 - 7] ; Abu 'l-Fida': al-Mukh-

pp.171 - 3 ] ; Carlyle, T.: On Heroes, Hero-Worship andtasar, [vol. 1, pp. 116 - 7] ; at -Tabari: at- Tarikh, [vol. l,

the Heroic in History, [p.54] ; Gibbon, E.: The Declineand Fall of the Roman Empire, [vol. 3, p. 94] ; Daven-port, J.: An Apology for Muhammed and the Koran,[ p.21]; Irving, W.: Mahommet and His Successors,[ p.45]. (For further details, see al-Amini: al-Ghadir,[ vol. 2, pp. 278 - 89 ] . )

nayeb

IMAMATE

9. VERSE OF MASTERSHIP (WILAYAH)

After that, on many occasions, many versesand traditions reminded the Muslims that Àliwas their master after the Holy Prophet. One ofthe most important verse is as follows:

6 0

Verily, your Master is only Allah and HisApostle and those who believe, those whoestablish prayers, and pay the zakat whilebowed (in worship) (5:55).The Muslim scholars, Sunni and Shi'ah alike,

agree that this verse was revealed in honour ofImam Àli (a. s.) . It clearly shows that there areonly three masters of the believers. Firstly, Allahsecondly, His Prophet and thirdly, Àli (with theeleven succeeding Imams).

Abu Dharr al-Ghifari says that one day hewas praying with the Prophet when a beggarcame to the Prophet's mosque. No one responded to his pleas. The beggar raised his handstowards heavens and said, "Allah! be a witnessthat I came to Thy Prophet's mosque and noone gave me anything". Àli (a.s.) was bowing inruku at that time. He pointed his little finger,on which was a ring, towards the beggar who


came forward and took away the ring. Thisincident occurred in the Prophet's presence whoraised his face towards heaven and prayed: "OLord! my brother Musa had begged of Thee toopen his breast and to make his work easy forhim, to loose the knot of his tongue so thatpeople might understand him, and to appointfrom among his relations his brother, as hisvizier, and to strengthen his back with Harunand to make Harun his partner in his work. OAllah! Thou said to Musa, `We will strengthenthy arm with thy brother. No one will nowhave an access to either of you!' O Allah!I am Muhammad and Thou hast given medistinction. Open my breast for me, makemy work easy for me, and from my familyappoint my brother `Ali as my vizier. Stengthenmy back with him". The Prophet had not yetfinished his prayers when Jibril brought theabove quoted verse.17

17. See [at-Tabari; at-Tafsir, vol. 6, p.186] ; as-Suyutiad-Durru 'l-manthur,

[vol. 2, pp. 293 - 4] ; ar-Razi:at-Tafsiru 'l-kabir,

[vol. 12,

p. 26] ;

az-Zamakhshari:at-Tafsir (al-Kashshaf), vol.1, p.649; [al-Jassas: Ah-kamu 'l-Quran, vol. 2, pp.542-3; al-Khazin: at-Tafsir,vol. 2, p. 68].

61

nayeb

IMAMATE

Here is not the place to give all the refer-ences of this hadith. (They run in the hundreds.)This verse and the prayer of the Prophet jointlyand separately show that `Ali (a.s.) was desig-nated to be the Master of the Muslims after theHoly Prophet.

10. THE FORMAL DECLARATIONOF GHADIR KHUMM

All the previous declarations may be classi-fied as a prelude to the formal declaration ofGhadir Khumm.

This. event has been unanimously describedby the learned historians and scholars of bothsects. Here we give a brief account to show whatgreat arrangements were made to declare `Ali asthe successor to the Holy Prophet.

Ghadir Khumm lies in Juhfa between Meccaand Medina. When the Prophet was on his wayhome, after performing his last pilgrimage, Jibrilbrought him this urgent command of Allah:

62

O Apostle! deliver what has been sent downto you from your Lord; and if you do it not,then you have not delivered His message


(at all) ; and Allah will protect you fromthe people... (5:67)The Prophet stopped at once and ordered

that all people who had gone ahead should becalled back, and he waited for those who werefollowing. When all the caravan had gathered,a pulpit was set up by piling up camel saddles;the acacia thorns were swept away. The Prophetascended the pulpit and delivered a long sermon.The day was very hot; people had to stretchtheir cloaks under their feet and over theirheads. The Prophet addressed them as follows:

O you people! Know it well that Jibril camedown to me several times bringing me ordersfrom the Lord, the Merciful, that I shouldhalt at this place and inform every man,white and black, that `Ali, the son of AbuTahb, is my brother and my wasiyy (suc-cessor) and my caliph, and the lmam afterme. His position to me is like that of Harunto Musa, except that there is to be noprophet after me, and he is your masternext to Allah and His Prophet.O you people! Verily, Allah has appointedhim to be your Imam and ruler. Obedienceto him is obligatory alike on all the muha-jirun (Emigrants) and ansar ( Helpers) and

63

IMAMATE

on those who follow them in virtue, and onthe dwellers in cities and the nomads, theArabs and the non-Arabs, the freeman andthe slave, the young and the old, the greatand the small, the white and the black. His

ing and his orders obligatory on everyonebelieving in the One God. Cursed is the manwho disobeys him and blessed is he whofollows him, and he who believes in him isa true believer.O you people! This is the last time I shallstand in this assembly. Therefore, listen andobey and surrender to the command ofyour Lord. Verily, Allah, He is your Lordand God; then after Him, His Prophet,Muhammad, who is addressing you, is yourMaster; then after me `Ali is your Master andyour Imam, according to Allah's command.Then after him the Imamate will continuethrough my descendants begotten by him tillthe day you meet Allah and His Prophet.O you people! Meditate on the Qur'an andunderstand its verses; reflect over its clearverses and do not go to the ambiguous ones.For, by Allah, none will properly explainto you its warnings and expound to you its

6 4


meanings except this man (i.e., `Ali) whosehand I am lifting up in front of myself. AndI say unto you that whoever whose MasterI am, Ali is his Master; ;and he is `Ali, theson of Abu Talib, my brother and wasiyy(successor) ; and wilayah (obedience to himand love for him) has been made obligatoryby Allah, the Powerful, the Exalted.The other Imams have also been briefly

referred to in this address; and they are men-tioned in precise detail in many other traditions.For example, on one occasion addressing ImamHusayn the Prophet said: "You are - an Imam,the son of an Imam, the brother of an Imam,nine of your lineal descendants will be piousImams; the ninth of them being their Qd'im(he who will rise).""

Even a casual observer would not fail torealize that, it was a matter of vital importanceto Islam and that is why the Prophet, underthe Divine Command, made all the possible prep-arations to accomplish it. Exposed to the scorch-ing rays of the midday sun, he mounted thepulpit to make the important pronouncement.

18. al-Qunduzi: Yanabi'u '1-mawaddah, [p. 168; Am-ritsari: Arjahu '1-matalib, p. 448].

65

nayeb

IMAMATE

First of all, he informed the audience of hisapproaching end and then called them to witnessthat he had faithfully discharged his duties.Then he asked them: "Do I not have more auth-ority upon you than you yourselves have?" Allof them cried out that he certainly had moreright on them than they themselves had. TheProphet then said: "Whoever whose Master Iam, Àli is his Master." In the end he invokedblessings on Àli, saying: "O Allah! Love himwho loves Àli, and be the enemy of the enemyof Àli; help him who helps Àli, and forsake himwho forsakes Àli."

When the ceremony was over, the followingverse of the Qur'an was revealed:

66

This day I have perfected your religion foryou, and I have completed My bounty uponyou and I have approved Islam as yourreligion (5:3).This Divine Communication clearly shows

that because of Àll's appointment to the Imam-ate the religion was perfected, the bounty andfavour of Allah completed, and Islam approvedby Allah. On the arrival of this glad tiding fromheaven the believers congratulated Àli in the


Prophet's presence and many poets composedpoems on this event. All these facts stand rec-orded in books of tradition as will be seen inthe following pages.

I. Hadith of Ghadir : Mutawatir. The following extracts (taken from authen-

tic Sunni books) from the said lecture (khutbah)of the Holy Prophet are very important

I am leaving behind, among you, two mostprecious things . . . (1) the Book of Allah. . . and (2) my descendants who are myfamily members. They will not separatefrom each other until they come to menear Kawthar (a pool in Paradise). VerilyAllah is my Master and I am the Master ofevery believer.

Then he took the hand of `Ali and said:Whoever whose Master I am, `Ali is hisMaster.These two traditions are referred to as the

traditions of `Two Precious Things'( Thaqalayn)and 'Mastership' ( Wilayah). They are singly andjointly narrated by hundreds of traditionalists.

Nawwab Siddiq Hasan Khan of Bhopal, says:"al-Hakim Abu Sa'id says that the tradition of` Two Precious Things' and of `Whoever whose

6 7

IMAMATE

Master I am, Àli is his Master' are mutawatir(i.e., narrated unbrokenly by so many peoplethat no doubt can be entertained about theirauthenticity), because a great number of theCompanions of the Prophet have narrated them.So much so that Muhammad ibn Jarir has writ-ten these two traditions through seventy-fivedifferent chains (asnad) ; and he has written aseparate book which he named Kitdbu '1-wila-yah; and al-Hafiz adh-Dhahabi also has written acomplete boob on its asnad and has passed theverdict that it is mutawatir; and Abu '1-Àbbasibn Ùgdah has narrated the hadith of GhadirKhumm through one hundred and fifty chainsand has written a complete book on it." 19

Some writers have tried to cast doubt on theauthenticity of the events of Ghadir Khumm.It is necessary to mention that this hadith ismutawatir, and the late renowned scholar al-Àllamah al-Amini in the first volume of hiscelebrated book al-Ghadir has given (with fullreferences) the names of 110 famous Compan-ions of the Holy Prophet who have narratedthis hadith. As an example, I am enumeratingthe names given under letter alif. ( The years of

19. Siddiq Hasan Khan: Manhaju 'l-wusul,

p. 13.

68

nayeb


death indicated in parentheses are in A. H.)1. Abu Layla al-Ansari (37) ; 2. Abu Zaynab

ibn Àwf al-Ansari; 3. Abu Fadalah al-Ansari(38); 4. Abu Qudamah al-Ansari; 5. Abu Àmrahibn Àmr ibn Muhassin al-Ansari; 6. Abu 'l-Hay-tham ibn at-Tayyihan (37) ; 7. Abu Rafi' al-Qibti,slave of the Holy Prophet; 8. Abu DhuwaybKhuwaylid (or Khalid) ibn Khalid al-Hudhali; 9.Usamah ibn Zayd ibn Harithah (54); 10. Ubayyibn Ka'b al-Ansari (30 or 32); 11. As'ad ibnZurarah al-Ansari; 12. Asma' bint Ùmays; 13.Umm Salamah, wife of the Holy Prophet; 14.Umm Hani bint Abi Talib; 15. Abu HamzahAnas ibn Malik al-Ansari; 16. Abu Bakr ibn AbiQuhafah; and 17. Abu Hurayrah. 20

And there are not less than 84 tabiìn (dis-ciples of the Companions) who narrated thishadith from the above-mentioned Companions.Again, the list under letter alif is given here asan example:

1. Abu Rashid al-Hubrani ash-Shami; 2. AbuSalamah ibn Àbdi 'r-Rahman ibn Àwf; 3. AbuSulayman al-Mu 'adhdhin; 4. Abu Salih as-Sam-man, Dhakwan al-Madani; 5. Abu Ùnfuwanahal-Mazini; 6. Abu Àbdi 'r-Rahim al-Kindi; 7.

20. al-Amini : al-Ghadir, vol. 1, pp. 14 - 18.

69

nayeb

Abu'1-Qasim, Asbagh ibn Nubatah at-Tamimi; 8.Abu Layla al-Kindi; and 9. lyas ibn Nudhayr. 21

Traditionalists have recorded this hadith intheir books in every century and every era. Forexample, the names of those writers and scholarswho have narrated this hadith in the secondcentury of hijrah are:

.1. Abu Muhammad, Àmr ibn Dinar al- Ju-

mahi al-Makki (115 or 116) ; 2. Abu Bakr Mu-hammad ibn Muslim ibn Ùbaydillah al-Qurashiaz-Zuhri (124) ; 3. Àbdu'r-Rahman ibn Qasimibn Muhammad ibn abi Bakr at Taymi al-Madani(126) ; 4. Bakr ibn Sawadah ibn Thumamah,Abu Thumamah al-Basri (128); 5. Àbdullah ibnAbi -Najih, Yasar ath-Thaqafi, Abu Yasar al-Ma-kki (131) ; 6. al-Hafiz Mughirah ibn Muqassim,Abu Hisham ad-Dabbi al-Kufi (133) ; 7. AbuÀbdi'r-Rahim Khalid ibn Zayd al-Jumahi al-Misri (139) ; 8. Hasan ibn al-Hakam an-Nakha'ial-Kufi (ca. 1 40); 9. ldris ibn Yazid, Abu Àbdi-llah al-Awdi al-Kufi; 10. Yahya ibn Said ibnHayyan at-Taymi al-Kufi; 11. al-Hafiz Àbdu'1-Malik ibn Abi Sulayman al-Àrzami al-Kufi(145) ; 12. Àwf ibn Abi Jamilah al-Àbdi al-Hajari al-Basri (146) ; 13. Ùbaydullah ibn Ùmar

21. Ibid., pp. 62 - 63.

70

IMAMATE

nayeb


ibn Hafs ibn Àsim ibn Ùmar ibn al-Khattabal-Àdawi al-Madani (147) ; 14. Nu'aym ibn . al-Hakim al-Madayini (148) ; 15. Talhah ibn Yahyaibn Talhah ibn Ùbaydillah at Taymi al-Kufi(148) ; 16. Abu Muhammad Kathir ibn Zaydal-Aslami (ca. 150); 17. al-Hafiz Muhammadibn lshaq al-Madani (151 or 152) ; 18. al-HafizMu'ammar ibn Rashid, Abu Ùrwah al-Azdial-Basri (153 or 154) ; 19. al-Hafiz Misàr ibnKidam ibn Zahir al-Hilali ar-Rawasi al-Kufi (153or 154) ; 20. Abu Ìsa Hakam ibn Aban al-Àdani(154 or 155) ; 21. Àbdullah ibn Shawdhab al-Balkhi al-Basri (157) ; 22. al-Hafiz Shu'bah ibnal-Hajjaj, Abu Bistam al-Wasiti (160); 23. al-Hafiz Abu '1-Àla', Kamil ibn al-Àla' at-Tamimial-Kufi (ca. 160) ; 24. al-Hafiz Sufyan ibn Saidath-Thawri, Abu Àbdillah al-Kufi (161) ; 25. al-Hafiz Isra'il ibn Yunus ibn Abi lshaq as-Sabiì,Abu Yusuf al-Kufi (162) ; 26. Ja'far ibn Ziyadal-Kufi al-Ahmar (165 or 167); 27. Muslim ibnSalim an-Nahdi, Abu Farwah al-Kufi; 28. al-Hafiz Qays ibn ar-Rabi', Abu Muhammad al-Asadi al-Kufi (165) ; 29. al-Hafiz Hammad ibnSalamah, Abu Salamah al-Basri (167) ; 30. al-Hafiz Àbdullah ibn Lahiàh, Abu Àbdi 'r-Rah-man al-Misri (174) ; 31. al-Hdfiz Abu Ùwanahal-Waddah ibn Àbdillah al-Yashkuri al-Wasiti

7 1

IMAMATE

al-Bazzaz (175 or 176) ; 32. al-Qadi Sharik ibnÀbdillah, Abu Àbdillah an-Nakha'i al-Kufi(177) ; 33. al-Hafiz Àbdullah (or Ùbaydullah)ibn Ùbaydu 'r-Rahman (or Àbdu 'r-Rahman)al-Kufi, Abu Àbdi 'r-Rahman al-Ashja'i (182) ;34. Nuh ibn Qays, Abu Rawh al-Huddani al-Basri(183) ; 35. al-Muttalib ibn Ziyad ibn Abi Zuhayral-Kufi, Abu Talib (185) ; 36. al-Qadi Hassanibn Ibrahim al-Ànazi, Abu Hashim (186) ; 37.al-Hafiz Jarir ibn Àbdi 'l-Hamid, Abu Àbdillahad-Dabbi al-Kufi ar-Razi (188) ; 38. al-Fadl ibnMusa, Abu Àbdillah al-Marwazi as-Sinani (192) ;39. al-Hafiz Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Madanial-Basri , (193) ; 40. al-Hafiz Isma'il ibn Ùliy-yah, Abu Bishr ibn Ibrahim al-Asadi (193) ; 41.al-Hafiz Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, Abu Àmr ibnabi Àdiyy as-Sulami al-Basri (194) ; 42. al-HafizMuhammad ibn Khazim, Abu Mu'awiyah at-Tamimi ad-Darir (195) ; 43. al-Hafiz Muhammadibn Fudayl, Abu Àbdi'r-Rahman al-Kufi (195) ;44. al-Hafiz al-Waki` ibn al-Jarrah ar-Ru'asi al-Kufi (196) ; 45. al-Hafiz Sufyan .ibn Ùyaynah,Abu Muhammad al-Hilali al-Kufi (198) ; 46.al-Hafiz Àbdullah ibn Numayr, Abu Hishamal-Hamdani al-Kharifi (199) ; 47. al-Hafiz Hanashibn al-Harith ibn Lagit an-Nakha'i al-Kufi; 48.Abu Muhammad Musa ibn Ya'qub az-Zama'i

72


al-Madani; 49. al-Àla' ibn Salim al-Àttar al-Kufi; 50. al-Azraq ibn Àli ibn Muslim al-Hanafi,Abu 'l-Jahm al-Kufi; 51. Hani ibn Ayyub al-Hanafi al-Kufi; 52. Fudayl ibn Marzuq al-Agharrar-Ru'asi al-Kufi (ca. 160); 53. Abu HamzahSa'd ibn Ùbaydah as-Sulami al-Kufi; 54. Musaibn Muslim al-Hizami ash-Shaybani, Abu Ìsaal-Kufi at-Tahhan (Musa as-Saghir) ; 55. Ya'qubibn Ja'far ibn Abi Kathir al-Ansari al-Madani;56. Ùthman ibn Sa'd ibn Murrah al-Qurashi,Abu Àbdillah (Abu Àli) al-Kufi. 22

Thus this hadith continues to be narratedby so many narrators (ruwat) in every era asto make it mutawatir. Coming to the scholarsand writers who have narrated this hadith intheir books of traditions, it is enough to men-tion that al-Àllamah al-Amini has listed thenames of 360 scholars according to fourteenthcentury.

Some people have tried to cast doubts aboutthe asnad of this hadith. As every student ofIslamic tradition knows, if a hadith is mutawatir,there is no need to look at individual's asnad atall. Still to show the hollowness of this charge,

22. Ibid., pp. 73 - 81.

23. Ibid., pp. 73 - 151.

7 3

nayeb

IMAMATE

I would like to give here the opinions of someof the famous traditionalists ( muhaddithun).

II. Asnad of Hadith of Ghadira. al-Hafiz Abu Ìsa at-Tirmidhi (d.279 A. H.)

has said in his Sahih (one of the as-Sihah as-Sit-tah) that(hasan) and correct (sahih) hadith. "

b. al-Hafiz Abu Ja'far at-Tahawi (d.321A.H.) has said in his Mushkilu 'l-athar that

-"This hadithis sahih according to the chains of narrators(asnad) and no one has said anything contraryto its narrators." 25

c. Abu Àbdillah al-Hakim an-Naysaburi(d. 405 A. H.) has narrated this hadith fromseveral chains in his al-Mustadrak and has saidthat this hadith is sahih. 26

d. Abu Muhammad Ahmad ibn Muhammadal-Àsimi has said:

- "This hadith is accepted by ummah,and it is in conformity with the principles." 27

24. at -Tirmidhi: as-Sahih, vol. 2, p.298.25. at-Tahawi: Mushkilu 'l-athar, vol. 2, p.308.26. al -Hakim: al -Mustadrak, vol. 3, pp.109-10.27. [al-Amini: al-Ghadir, vol. 1, p. 295.]

74

-

This is . a good24

nayeb


Likewise, the following traditionalists (amonghundreds of others) have quoted that this hadithis sahih:-

1. Abu Àbdillah al-Mahamili al-Baghdadiin his Amali; 2. Ibn Àbdi1-Barr al-Qurtubi inal-Istiàb;

3 . Ibnu '1-Maghazili

ash-Shafi'i inal-Manaqib; 4. Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali in Sirru'l- alamayn; 5. Abu '1-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi in al-Manaqib; 6. Sibt ibn al-Jawzi in Tadhkirat kha-wassi 'l-ummah; 7. Ibn Abi'l-Hadid al-Mu'taziliin his Sharh Nahji 'l-balaghah; 8. Abu Àbdillahal-Ganji ash-Shafi'i in Kifayatu 't-talib; 9. Abu'1-Makarim Àla'u 'd-Din as-Simnani in al-Ùr-watu 'l-wuthqa; 10. Ibn Hajar al-Àsqalani inTahdhibu 't-tahdhib; 11. Ibn Kathir ad-Dima-shqi in his Tarikh; 12. Jalalu'd-Din as-Suyuti;13. al-Qastalani in al Mawahibu 'l-ladunniyyah;14. Ibn Hajar al-Makki in as-Sawa ìqu 'l-muh-riqah; 15. Àbdu 'l-Haqq ad-Dihlawi in Sharhu'l- mishkat; and many others. 28

It should be noted that all the names men-tioned above are of Sunni scholars; and inSunni usage, a hadith is called "sahih " whenit is uninterruptedly narrated by persons ofapproved probity ( aadil) who have perfect

28. Ibid., pp.294-313.

7 5

nayeb

7 6

IMAMATE

memory, does not have any defect, and is notunusual (shaadh). 29

If the above virtues are found in the asnadof a hadith but the memory of one or more ofits narrators is a degree less than that requiredfor sahih, then it is called "hasan" 30

So when the Sunni scholars say that thehadith of Ghadir is sahih, they mean that itsnarrators are of approved probity (i.e., theydo not have any defect in belief and deeds)and have perfect memory, and that this hadithhas no defect and is not unusual.

III. General Meanings of Mawla:As the Sunnis cannot deny the authenticity

of the hadith of Ghadir, they try to downplayits significance by saying that the word "mawla "in this hadith means `friend', and that the HolyProphet wanted to announce that: "Whoeverwhose friend I am, `Ali is his friend! "

The trouble is that not a single personwho was present in Ghadir grasped this alleged

29. Subhi as-Salih: `Ulumu'l-hadith wa mustalahatuh,p. 145.30 . Ibid., p.156 .

nayeb


meaning. Hassaan ibn Thabit the famous poet ofthe Holy Prophet, composed a poem and recitedit before the audience, in which he said:

The Prophet then said to him: "Stand up,O Ali,

As I am pleased to make you Imam andGuide after me. "

` Umar ibn al-Khattab congratulated Àli inthese words:

"Congratulations, O son of Abu Talib, thismorning you became mawla of every believingman and woman." 31

If mawla means `friend' then why thecongratulations? And was Àli ènemy' of allbelieving men and women before that time, sothat Ùmar said that `this morning' you becamefriend of them all?

31. al-Khatib at-Tabrizi: Mishkatu l-masabih [p. 557];Mir Khwand: Habibu 's-siyar, [vol. 1, pt. 3, p. 144];at-Tabari: [al-Wilayah ] ; [ar-Razi: at-Tafsiru 'l-kabir,vol. 12, pp. 49 - 50] ; Ahmad: al-Musnad, [vol. 4,p.281]; Ibn Abi Shaybah: al-Musannaf; Abu Ya'la:al-Musnad; Ahmad ibn Ùqdah: al- Wilayah, and manyothers. [See also al-Amini: al-Ghadir, vol. 1, pp. 270-83 - for further references.]

77

nayeb

IMAMATE

al-Imam Àli (a. s.) himself wrote to Mu` awi-yah: "And the Messenger of Allah granted tome his authority over you on the day of GhadirKhumm. " 32

7 8

And there are many other Companions ofthe Holy Prophet who used in their poems theword "mawla " in connection with GhadirKhumm in the sense of "master".

Countless scholars of the Qur'an, Arabicgrammar and literature have interpreted theword "mawla " as "awla whichmeans "having more authority". The namesof the following scholars may be quoted hereas examples :-

Ibn Àbbas (in his Tafsir, on the margin ofad-Durru 'l-manthur, vol. 5, p. 355) ; al-Kalbi(as quoted in at-Tafsiru 'l-kabir of ar-Razi, vol.29, p.227; al-Alusi, Ruhu 'l-ma'ani, vol. 27, p.178) ; al-Farra', (ar-Razi, ibid. ; al-Alusi, ibid.) ;Abu Ùbaydah Mu'ammar ibn Muthanna al-Basri (ar-Razi, ibid.; and ash-Sharif al-Jurjani,Sharhu 'l-mawaqif, vol. 3, p. 271) ; al-Akhfashal-Awsat (in Nihayatu '1- ` uqul) ; al-Bukhari (inas-Sahih, vol. 7, p. 240) ; Ibn Qutaybah (in al-Qurtayn,- vol. 2, p.164); Abu'1-Àbbas Tha'lab

32. al-Amini: al-Ghadir, vol. 1, p.340.

nayeb


(in Sharhu 's-sab`ah al-mu`allaqah of az-Zu-zani) ; at-Tabari (in his Tafsir, vol. 9, p. 117) ;al-Wahidi (in al- Wasit) ; ath-Tha'labi (in al-Kashfwa 'l-bayan); az-Zamakhshari (in al-Kashshaf,vol. 2, p. 435); al-Baydawi (in his Tafsir, vol. 2,p. 497) ; an-Nasafi (in his Tafsir, vol. 4, p. 229);al-Khazin al-Baghdadi (in his Tafsir, Vol. 4,p.229); and Muhibbu'd-Din Afandi (in hisTanzilu '1-ayat ).33

IV. Meaning of "Mawla" in the Context:Now let us examine what meaning can be

inferred from the context of this hadith. If aword has more than one meaning, the best wayto ascertain its true connotation is to look at

- qarinah) and the context.There are scores of "associations" in this hadithwhich clearly show that the only meaning fittingthe occasion can be "master". Some of themare as follows:

First: The question which the Holy Prophetasked just before this declaration: He askedthemmore authority upon you than you have your-

33. See al-Amini: al-Chadir, pp. 344 - 50, for detailreferences.

79

the association

- "Do I Not have

nayeb

IMAMATE

selves?" When they said: "Yes, surely," thenthe Prophet proceeded to declare that

- "Whoever whosemawla I am, Àli is his mawla."

Without doubt, the word "mawla " in thisdeclaration has the same meaning as:(having more authority upon you) has in thepreceding question. At least 64 Sunni tradi-tionalists have quoted that preceding question;among them are Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn Majah,an-Nasa'i and at-Tirmidhi.'

Second: The following prayer which theHoly Prophet uttered just after this declaration:

34 . Ibid., pp. 370 - 371.

80

"O Allah! Love him who loves Àli, and be theenemy of the enemy of Àli; help him who helpsÀli, and forsake him who forsakes Àli."

This prayer shows that Àli, on that day, wasentrusted with a responsibility which, by its very.nature, would make some people his enemy (andthat responsibility could not be that except ofa ruler) ; and in carrying out that responsibilityhe would need helpers and supporters. Arehelpers ever needed to carry on a 'friendship'?

Third: The declaration of the Holy Prophet

nayeb


that: "It seems imminent that I will be calledaway (by Allah) and I will answer that call."This clearly shows that he was making arrange-ments for the leardership of the Muslims afterhis death.

Fourth: The congratulations of the Compan-ions and their expressions of joy do not leaveroom for doubt concerning the meaning of thisdeclaration.

Fifth: The occasion, place and time: Imaginethe Holy Prophet breaking his journey in mid-day, and detaining nearly one-hundred-thousandtravellers under the burning sun of the Arabiandesert, making them sit in a thorny place on theburning sand, and making a pulpit of camel-saddles; then imagine him delivering a long lec-ture and at the end of all those preparationscoming out with an announcement that: "Who-over loves me should love Ali," or "Whoeverwhose friend I am, Ali is his friend! "

Is such a thing excusable before commonsense? No, but some people are ready to accusethe Holy Prophet of such childish behaviour!

11.'ALI - "SELF" OF THE PROPHET

There are many verses which point to the

81

IMAMATE

caliphate of `Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.). It is notpossible to enumerate them all here. But theevent of Mubahalah ( malediction, imprecation)which took place in the ninth year of the hijrahshould be 'noted.

In this year a delegation consisting of four-teen Christians came from Najran to meet theProphet. When they met the Prophet they askedhim: "What is your opinion about Jesus?" TheApostle said: "You may take rest today and youwill receive the reply afterwards." The next daythree verses of the third chapter of the Qur'an(3:59-61) about Jesus were revealed. Whenthe Christians did not accept the words of Allahand insisted on their own beliefs, the Apostlerecited the following verse:

But whoever disputes with you in this mat-ter after what has come to you of know-ledge, then say: "Come let us call our sonsand your sons, and our women and yourwomen, and our selves and your selves, thenlet us be earnest in prayer and invoke thecurse of Allah upon the liars (3:61).

82


The next day the Christians came out onone side; and on the other side, the Apostlecame out of his house carrying Husayn in hisarms with Hasan walking by his side holdinghis hand. Behind him was Fatimah, and behindher, Àli. When the Christians saw the fivepure souls they abstained from the proposedmalediction and submitted to a treaty withthe Prophet.

In this verse, according to Jabir ibn Àbdillahal-Ansari, the word "sons" refers to Hasan andHusayn, the word "women" refers to Fatimah,and the words "our selves" refer to the Prophetand Àli. Thus Àli ibn Abi Talib (a. s.), has beenreferred to in the verse of Mubahalah as "theself" of the Prophet. 35

It also follows that just as it is unlawful toseek to be superior to the Prophet, similarlyit is unlawful to supercede Àli - he being the"self " of the Prophet according to the wordsof Allah. Anyone who presumed to supercedehim was in essence presuming to supercede theProphet.

35. al-Wahidi: Asbabu 'n-nuzul, p.40; as-Suyuti:ad-Durru '1-manthur, vol. 2, p. 38.

83

nayeb

IMAMATE

12. TRADITIONS

After the declaration of Ghadir, there isreally no need to provide more proofs of thecaliphate of Àli ibn Abi Talib (a.s.). Yet, itmay be pertinent to quote some ahadith inthis regard.

In the Hadithu 'th-thaqalayn the Prophetsaid: .

I am leaving two weighty things among you- the Book of Allah and my Ahlu 'l-bayt.If you adhere to them and continue tofollow and obey both of them and forsakeneither, you will never be misled. They willnot separate from each other till they reachme at Kawthar (the pool in Paradise).

Now, it is admitted on all hands that Àli ibnAbi Talib is not only one of the Ahlu 'l-baytbut is the head of the Ahlu 'l-bayt. Therefore,the obligation of his obedience is proved fromthis universal accepted tradition."

36. This hadith can be seen in most books of traditions.

See for instance, at-Tirmidhi: as-Sahih, vol. 2, p.308;

Ibnu'l-Athir: Usdu 'l-ghabah, vol. 2, p.12; as-Suyuti:

ad-Durru '1-manthur, vol. 6, p.7; al-Muttaqi al-Hindi:Kanzu '1-ùmmal, ( Hyderabad, 1312 A. H.), p. 48.

84

nayeb


Then there is the hadith known as Hadithu'l-manzilah. In the expedition of Tabuk (in themonth of Rajab of the ninth year A. H.) theProphet left Àli as his deputy in Medina. Àliexclaimed with dismay: "Are You leaving mebehind?" The Prophet asked him: " O Àli, areyou not satisfied that you have the same positionin relation to me as Harun had to Musa exceptthat there is no prophet after me?"

The Prophet thereby meant that as Musahad left behind Harun to look after his peoplewhen he went to receive the Commandments,in the same way he was leaving Àli behind ashis deputy to look after the affairs of Islamduring his absence. 37

Then there is the occasion of communi-cating the verses of surah al-Bara'ah (ch. 9) tothe people of Mecca. First Abu Bakr was sent toproclaim it before the pagans. Later the Prophetsent Àli to take the surah from Abu Bakr andannounce it at Mecca. Abu Bakr returned toMedina from his journey midway en route to

37. Ibn Majah: as-Sunan, p.12; Ahmad: al-Musnad,

vol. 1, p.174; an-Nasa'i: al-Khasa'is, pp.15-16; at -

Tahawi: Mushkilu 'l-athar, vol. 2, p. 309; al-Muhibb

at-Tabari: Dhakha'iru 'l-ùqba, p.63.

85

nayeb

IMAMATE

Mecca and asked the Prophet whether any verseor order was received from Allah against himannouncing the surah. The Prophet said: "Jibrilcame to me and said that no one shall deliverthe message except myself or the person whois from me. " 38

The moral principle evident in these dec-larations of the Prophet is also expressed in thefollowing tradition which has been accepted byall sects.

The Prophet said: " Àli is with the truth andthe truth is with 'All; whithersoever Àli turns,the truth (also) turns with him." 39 The rightfulcaliphate is thus rightly entrusted to Àli and tonone else.

Another is the hadith of "Divine Light"(Hadithu 'n-nur). Sayyid Àli Hamadani writesin Mawaddatu 'l-qurba, on the authority ofSalman al-Farisi, that the Prophet said: "I andÀli were both created from one and the same

38. as-Suyati:

ad-Durru 'l-manthur,

vol. 6,

p. 209;

at-Tabari: at-Tafsir, vol. l0,.p.47; an-Nasa'i: al-Kha-sa'is, p.20.39. al-Khatib al-Khwarazmi: al-Manaqib, p.56; al-

Hammuyi: Fara'idu 's-simtayn, vol. 1,p.176;al-Khatibal-Baghdadi: Tarikh Baghdad, vol. 14, p. 321.

86

nayeb


nur (Divine Light) four thousand years beforeAdam was created, and when Adam was createdthat nur was given a place in his backbone. Sowe continued to occupy the same place till wewere separated in the back of Àbdu '1-Muttalib.Therefore in me is the prophethood and in Àliis the caliphate." In Riyadu '1-fada'il, the lastwords of the above hadith are written as fol-lows: "Then He made me a prophet and madeÀli a wasiyy (vicegerent)." 40

13. ULU'L-AMR MUST BE MA'SUM

Allah says in the Qur'an:

O ye who believe! Obey Allah and obey theApostle and those vested with authorityfrom among you; then if you quarrel aboutanything, refer it to Allah and the Apostle,if you believe in Allah and the last day; thisis better and very good in the end (4:59).

40. As quoted in Mafatihu 'l-matalib, p. 396; al-GanjiKifayatu 't-talib, p.176.

87

nayeb

This verse obliges the Muslims to two obedi-ences: First, the obedience of Allah; second, theobedience of the Apostle and `those vested withauthority from among you' (uli 'l-amri min-kum). The arrangement of the words showsthat the obedience of ulu 'l-amr is as muchobligatory as is 'lie obedience of the Apostle.Naturaly, it means

that ulu '1-amr should beof the same position

as the Apostle; otherwiseAllah would not have

, joined them together in

this verse.Before deciding who the ulu 'l-amr are, it

will be of help to have a look at the command-ment of obeying the Apostle, to see how all-encampassing and all-pervading this command-ment is and how great the authority of theApostle of Allah is.

Allah says in the Qur'an: And We did notsend any Apostle, but that he should be obeyedby Allah's permission (4:64). The prophets andthe apostles were to be obeyed and followed;the followers were not expected to check everyaction of the prophet to decide what was to beobeyed and what not. Clearly, it shows that theprophets and apostles were free from error andsin; otherwise Allah would not have ordered thepeople to obey the apostles unconditionally.

88

IMAMATE


There are many verses in which Allahcommands us to obey the Prophet: O ye whobelieve!

Obey Allah , and obey the Apostle."

Again, He says: And whoever obeys Allah andHis Apostle . . . 42 In the same surah it is asserted:Whoever obeys the Apostle, he indeed obeys

Allah (4:80). In these as well as numerous otherverses of the Qur'an, obedience of Allah is syn-onymous with the obedience of the prophets.Such assertion would have been impossible ifthe prophets were not ma`sum (infallible).

Now, note the following verse:

. . . andobey not from among them a sinner or an un-grateful one (76:26). The picture is complete.The prophets are to be obeyed; the sinners arenot to be obeyed. The only conclusion is thatthe prophets were not sinners or wrong-doers.In other words, they were ma`sum - infallible,sinless.

Just imagine what impossible situationwould have been created if any prophet beganexhorting his followers to commit a mistakeor sin. The wretched followers would have been

41. Quran,47:33;see also: 3:32,132; 5:92; 8:1, 20,

46; 24:54; 58:13; 64:12.

42. Qur'an, 4:13 ; see also: 4:69; 24:52; 33:71; 48:18.

89

nayeb

IMAMATE

condemned to the displeasure of Allah in anycase. If they obeyed the Prophet and com-mitted that sin they disobeyed the commandgiven by Allah and thus were disgraced. If, onthe other hand, they disobeyed the Prophet,they again disobeyed the command of Allahabout obeying the Prophet. So, it appears thata non-ma`sum prophet could bring nothing butdisgrace and condemnation to his people.

Looking especially at the Holy Prophet ofIslam, Allah tells us: ... and whatever theApostle gives you, take it; and from whateverhe forbids you, keep back (59:7). This meansthat the permission or prohibition of the HolyProphet was always in accordance with the willof Allah and always favoured by Him. It provesthat the Holy Prophet was ma`sum. No one canbe so sure about the commands of a man whois not infallible.

There is another verse: Say: "If you loveAllah, then follow me, Allah will love you andforgive you your sins" (3:31). Here the loveof Allah is made contingent on following theProphet of Islam. Both sides of love are includedin it. If you love Allah follow the Prophet; ifyou love the Prophet, Allah will love you. Doesit not show that the Prophet was absolutely free

90


from any type of blemish?Not only his actions, even his words were

the Commands of Allah. Allah says in theQur'an: Nor does he speak out of (his own)desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed(53:3-4). Here we find the highest degree ofinfallibility which can be imagined.

Also, there are several verses in which thefollowing words have been used for the HolyProphet: ... and Apostle from among themselves, who recites to them His communicationsand purifies them, and teaches them the Bookand the Wisdom.43 How could a prophet purifyothers of sins and blemishes if he himself werenot pure? How could a man teach others wis-dom if he had no wisdom to distinguish rightfrom wrong; or worst still, if he had no will-power to resist from doing wrong? The Prophetwas to teach people the Book of Allah; thismeans that he knew the Commandments ofAllah. He was to purify them and teach themwisdom. So this means he had wisdom andpurity himself.

Witness to the perfection of his characteris found in the Qur'an where it says: And most

43. Qur'an, 62:2; see also: 2:129; 3:164.

91

nayeb

IMAMATE

surely you are on sublime morality (68:4). Aman committing mistakes does not deserve suchcompliments.

All these verses clearly show two things:First: The authority of the Holy Prophet

upon the believers was unlimited and all-com-prehensive. Any order given by him, under anycondition, in any place, at any time, was to beobeyed unconditionally.

Second: That supreme authority was givento him because he was ma`sum (sinless) andfree from all types of error and sin. Otherwise,Allah would not have ordered us to obey himunconditionally.

In this verse, ulu '1-amr, have been givenexactly the same authority over the Muslims,because both the `Apostle' and the ulu 'l-amrhave been jointly mentioned under one word

- "obey "; which shows that the obedienceof ulu 'l-amr has the same standing as theobedience of the Apostle.

It naturally follows that ulu 'l-amr mustalso be ma`sum (sinless) and free from anytype of error and sin. Otherwise, their obediencewould not have been joined with the obedienceof the Prophet. Amiru'1-Mu'minin `Ali (a.s.),said: "The one who disobeys Allah is not to be

92


obeyed; and verily obedience is of Allah and ofHis Apostle and those vested with authority.Verily, Allah ordered (the people) to obey theApostle because he was sinless and clean (pure),who would not tell the people to disobey Allah;and verily He ordered (the people) to obey thosevested with authority because they are sinlessand clean (pure), and would not tell -the peopleto disobey Allah.44

14. ULU'L-AMR: DOES IT MEAN

MUSLIM RULERS?

Many of our Sunni brethren tend to inter-pret "ulu 'l-amr " as `the rulers from amongyourselves', i.e., Muslims rulers. This interpretation is not based on any logical reasoning; itis solely based on twists of history. The major-ity of the Muslims have remained as a vassal ofthe monarchs and rulers, interpreting and rein-terpreting Islam and the Qur'an to please thepowers-to-be.

The history of the Muslims (like any othernation) is replete with the names of rulers whoseinjustice, debauchery and tyranny have tarnished

44. as-Saduq: ''Ilalu 'sh-shara'i`, [vol.1,p.1231.

93

nayeb

nayeb

IMAMATE

the name of Islam, as will be mentioned brieflyin the latter part of this text. Such rulers havealways been and will always be. And we aretold that they are the ulu 'l-amr mentioned inthis verse.

If Allah were to order us to obey such kingsand rulers, an impossible situation would becreated for the Muslims. The wretched followerswould be condemned to the displeasure ofAllah, no matter what they did. If they obeyedthese rulers, they disobeyed the Command ofAllah: "Do not obey a sinner." And if theydisobeyed such rulers, they again disobeyedthe Command of Allah to "obey the Muslimrulers". So, if we accept this interpretation,the Muslims are condemned to eternal disgracewhether they obey or disobey their non-ma`sumMuslim rulers.

Also, there are Muslim rulers of differ-ent beliefs and persuasions. There are Shafi'is,Wahhabis, Malikis, Hanafs, as well as Shi'ahsand lbadis. Now, according to this interpretationthe Sunnis residing under an lbadi Sultan (likein Oman) should follow Ibadi tenents; and thoseresiding under a Shi`ah ruler (like in Iran)should follow Shi'ah beliefs. Do these peoplehave the conviction of courage to follow their

94


professed interpretation to its logical end?The famous 'Sunni commentator, Fakhru

' d-Din ar-Razi, concluded in his Tafsiru 'l-kabir 45

that this verse proves that ulu 'l-amrmust be ma`sum.

He

argues that Allah hascommanded the people to obey ulu '1-amrunconditionally; therefore, it is essential forthe ulu 'l-amr to be ma`sum. Because if thereis any possiblity of their committing sin (andsin is forbidden), it will mean that one hasto obey them and also disobey them in thatvery action. And this is impossible! Then todissuade his readers from the Ahlu 'l-bayt, heinvented the theory that the Muslim ummah asa whole is ma`sum .

This interpretation is unique, as no Muslimscholar ever subscribed to this theory and it isnot based on any tradition. It is quite surprisingthat ar-Razi accepts that each individual of theMuslim nation is non-ma`sum, yet still claimsthat their sum-total is ma`sum. Even a primaryschool student knows that 200 cows plus 200cows makes 400 cows and not one horse.

But ar-Razi says that 70 million non-ma`sum plus 70 million non-ma`sum will make

45. ar-Razi: at-Tafsiru 'l-kabir, vol. 10, p.144.

95

nayeb

IMAMATE

one ma`sum ! Does he want us to believe thatif all the patients of a mental hospital joinedtogether they would be equal to one saneperson? *

The poet of the Orient, Iqbal, has said:

The minds of two hundred donkeys cannotproduce the thoughts of one man.Obviously, with his great knowledge he

was able to conclude that ulu 'l-amr must bema`sum;

Imamate - World Organization For Islamic Services · 2013. 10. 12. · First edition...

Documents

Transcript of Imamate - World Organization For Islamic Services · 2013. 10. 12. · First edition...